Open letter to Coventry City Council from Coventry City FC and the fans represented by the SBT, CCLSC, SCG and CCFPA

7 October 2014

CCFC

The club and the fans have come together to express our joint concerns on the change of ownership at the Ricoh Arena....

Dear Councillors,

Coventry City FC and the Fans as represented by the SBT (Sky Blue Trust), CCLSC (Coventry City London Supporters club), SCG (Supporters Consultative Group) and CCFC Former Player Association are coming together to express our joint concerns about the change of ownership at the Ricoh Arena. The Football Club, its manager, playing and coaching staff and our fans are united in our genuine concerns.

We request that no final decision is taken to proceed with the transaction at the City Council meeting this afternoon. We ask that a formal consultation process be carried out between the Council and our organisations, in which as much non-commercially sensitive information as possible can be shared with us, so that we can each form a view on the proposals and then set out our views.

The Council will then be able to proceed to a final decision with the benefit of knowledge of the impact the decision will have upon each of us. If a final decision is taken before then, the Council runs the risk of causing unforeseen, adverse consequences for some or all of us.

Due to a lack of information and consultation we do not know yet whether this deal will have a negative or positive effect either in the short or long term and we cannot comment on any possible deal between Coventry City Council and Wasps RFC. The council has the power to choose its own commercial partners. However no-one has sought our views on this potential move. However, we are all deeply concerned that Coventry City Council have not sought the views of Coventry City FC, the manager, the players or the coaching staff. They have not sought the views of the club’s owners Sisu Capital. They have not sought the views of the fans’ representative organisations such as the Sky Blues Trust, Coventry City London Supporters Club and Supporters Consultative Group or the Former Player Association. And, we understand, they have not sought the views of Coventry Rugby Club.

All of whom are stakeholders in the future of sport in this great city.

We are not demanding a no vote, we are simply asking that councillors slow down the indecent haste which it appears this deal is being forced through and allow each of us time to consult with both the City Council and Wasps before any irreversible decision is taken.

We ask councillors to take into account the wishes of the city’s two major sporting entities and their supporters and delay any decision until this consultation process is completed. We are neither supporting nor decrying any deal but we need to know more about its potential impact and ask councillors grant us this breathing space.

In summary, we have been left in the dark about what has been going on. We would prefer to be part of any decision, fully informed and actively involved in plans affecting us all.

Both sporting clubs and their supporters have been through many ups and downs over the past decade and it is in the gift of the City’s councillors to put them at the heart of any decision making process and not simply to view them as collateral damage.